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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28546989">The Recursive Ghost Story</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TurboGhast/pseuds/TurboGhast'>TurboGhast</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Touhou Project</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Comedy, Gen, One Shot, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Short One Shot, Story within a Story, ghost story</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:33:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>429</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28546989</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TurboGhast/pseuds/TurboGhast</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A ghost story is told amidst another ghost story.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Recursive Ghost Story</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“On a night much like this one, I told a group of people much like this one a story much like this one. That story was about the time I first met a half-ghost:</p><p>‘On a winter’s night much colder than this one, while walking home from my bookstore, I noticed a girl walking around affected by neither cold nor darkness. My curiosity drove me to tail her in hopes of discovering why she felt so nonchalant about the freezing weather.</p><p>When she turned a corner, I sped up not to get left behind. Upon turning that corner too, I got a much closer look at her. A torch-like flame trailed her, yet this flame needed neither fuel nor an arm to keep it in place. Further examination showed that the flame was somehow under her control anyway, as when she began to examine something on the ground the flame flew downwards to illuminate it.</p><p>She looked human in every respect other than the flame that tailed her, but I knew that wasn’t likely to be the case. Many a youkai takes human form to prey on man. However, if she had a glamour, I couldn’t see through it in the short time I got to observe her, for when she began to turn towards me my fear overcame my curiosity and drove me home.</p><p>The next day, I did some research on what could give someone such a mysterious flame, and found the answer I tailed her for. The person who I’d seen in the dead of night was a half-ghost willing to use her own spirit as a light!’</p><p>When I said those words, my audience fell silent except for one girl who let out an ear piercing shriek! She was so overcome by fear that she lost all control of her body, leaving her human half splayed on the floor … revealing her ghost half!”</p><p>As the story neared its climax, a girl in a green dress next to the storyteller began breathing heavier and heavier. Now that it was complete, she let out her fear all at once, screaming and flying in chaotic circles. The rest of the audience stared in confused horror until one of them pointed out the eerie light shining from her former seat. A moment of fearful recognition made everyone except the storyteller else join her screaming. The one being who remained silent was covering her mouth with her hands. The audience thought she was holding in a scream, but that was simply unnecessary. Her hands were really there to stifle laughter.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I originally posted this work on the r/touhou subreddit. I made a minor change while reposting it here.</p><p>Coming up with a summary that didn't spoil the punchline was fairly tough. Honestly, the current summary is just me restating the title in a more verbose way for lack of better ideas.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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